White House tells agencies to prepare for mass layoffs, firings if there is a shutdown next week:
The White House’s budget office has sent a memo to federal agencies telling them to prepare for mass layoffs in case Congress fails to pass a spending bill and the government shuts down on Wednesday.
The memo from the Office of Management and Budget raises the stakes for Democrats, putting federal employees’ livelihoods at risk if they don’t support Republican measures to keep the government open.
When asked about potentially firing scores of government workers, Mr. Trump quickly blamed the Democrats.
Congressional Democrats are demanding the spending bill undo the One Big Beautiful Bill law that bars illegal immigrants and some able-bodied adults from Medicaid. They also demand a continuation of Obamacare subsidies that were expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic and set to expire at the end of this year.
“This is all caused by the Democrats. They asked us to do something that’s totally unreasonable. They never change. People who entered our country illegally, [Democrats] want to give them massive federal money, and we don’t want to do that because it means everyone is going to just keep pouring in,” Mr. Trump said.
In the memo, sent late Wednesday, the White House told the agencies to put together “reduction in force” plans, signaling the administration is planning to go beyond the traditional furloughing of federal employees and fire them.
“With respect to those Federal programs whose funding would lapse and which are otherwise unfunded such programs are no longer statutorily required to be carried out,” the memo. “RIF notices will be in addition to any furlough notices provided due to the lapse in appropriation.”
By shutting those programs, the White House would then use the lack of funding as a reason to fire those federal employees. --->READ MORE HERE
White House to agencies: Prepare mass firing plans for a potential shutdown:
In memo, the Trump administration says the Reduction-in-Force plans would go beyond standard shutdown furloughs.
The White House budget office is instructing federal agencies to prepare reduction-in-force plans for mass firings during a possible government shutdown, specifically targeting employees who work for programs that are not legally required to continue.
The Office of Management and Budget move to permanently reduce the government workforce if there is a shutdown, outlined in a memo shared with POLITICO ahead of release to agencies tonight, escalates the stakes of a potential shutdown next week.
In the memo, OMB told agencies to identify programs, projects and activities where discretionary funding will lapse on Oct. 1 and no alternative funding source is available. For those areas, OMB directed agencies to begin drafting RIF plans that would go beyond standard furloughs, permanently eliminating jobs in programs not consistent with President Donald Trump’s priorities in the event of a shutdown.
The move marks a significant break from how shutdowns have been handled in recent decades, when most furloughs were temporary and employees were brought back once Congress voted to reopen government and funding was restored. This time, OMB Director Russ Vought is using the threat of permanent job cuts as leverage, upping the ante in the standoff with Democrats in Congress over government spending.
“Programs that did not benefit from an infusion of mandatory appropriations will bear the brunt of a shutdown,” OMB wrote in the memo. Agencies were told to submit their proposed RIF plans to OMB and to issue notices to employees even if they would otherwise be excepted or furloughed during a lapse in funding.
Programs that will continue regardless of a shutdown include Social Security, Medicare, veterans benefits, military operations, law enforcement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and air traffic control, according to an OMB official granted anonymity to share information not yet public. --->READ MORE HERE
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